After completing his helicopter career in 1947, Arthur M. Young established three non-profit organizations, two during his lifetime and one upon his passing. On November 12, 1951, he incorporated the Foundation for the Study of Consciousness (FSC) in Pennsylvania, dedicated to research. In 1972, the Institute for the Study of Consciousness (ISC) began operations, focused upon education. ISC was incorporated on 2/6/1975 in California. On November 13, 1995, through his Will, he funded the establishment of Anodos Foundation in California, devoted to the preservation of the Theory of Process as described in his books, The Reflexive Universe and The Geometry of Meaning (1976, Delacorte.)

The Foundation For The Study Of Consciousness

“On January 8, 1951, I was on my way home from an astrology session with Marc Edmund Jones. As usual, my thoughts were upon the question of how to bridge the gap between science and the esoteric traditions. Recalling the success of our group effort at Bell, I decided to apply that experience to the current challenge by establishing an organization that could sponsor research.

Within a few months, the Foundation for the Study of Consciousness was incorporated. I selected this name because I wanted the most general and inclusive title possible. “Parapsychology” would have been too narrow.

Since 1949, I had been immersed in an education into the incredible. It had proven to me beyond doubt that science was attending to only a portion of reality, and for the most part, omitting man and the central mystery: what is consciousness. I was determined that the work of the Foundation would be to bring the focus back upon man, since all the scientific excursions into the vast reaches of the universe and the infinitesimally small nuclear realm are but reflections in a human mind, and subject to the distortions of the lens of our own consciousness.” (Nested Time, 171)

The focus of FSC was upon research into the unanswered questions about consciousness. The organization also set up a lending library and produced a recommended reading list for those who shared this goal. Intriguing reports about FSC research findings are included in the yearly records of activities. Arthur observed that the purpose of these studies was to “investigate numerous avenues—both exhilarating and disappointing—in the hope that some discernible pattern would be discovered that could be subjected to experimentation or lend itself to the formulation of a valid theory.” (1963 Annual Report to FSC Directors.)

Among the recipients of FSC grants are:

• Marc Edmund Jones, to support the writing of his first books on astrology, including Sabian Symbols in Astrology and The Essentials of Astrological Analysis.
• T. G. Hieronymus, for a report on experiments with his radionics instruments.
• Frederick Marion, for experiments in psychometry.
• Mark Gallert, for reports on new healing methods, and on Dianetics and Scientology.
• Round Table Foundation, for research on telepathy and related topics.
• Ruth Drown and Fran Farrelly, for studies using radionics.
• Charles Hapgood, to investigate the Acámbaro figurines, and later to study ancient myth and symbolism.
• Charles Jayne, to research astrological cycles.
• Dr. Andrija Puharich, to study the Brazilian healer Arigo and psychic Uri Geller.
• Dr. Elmer Green and The Menninger Foundation, to do initial research into the voluntary control of internal states.
• Princeton University, to sponsor a contest and award a prize for the best essay on “Mind-Matter.”
• Kenneth R. Pelletier, as a scholarship to complete his Ph.D. at the University of California in Berkeley.

In 1967, FSC decided to produce the Journal for the Study of Consciousness. Arthur enlisted mathematician Charles Musès to serve as editor, noting that his extensive published work had an extraordinary correlation to the theory of process that Arthur had been developing for over ten years. Between 1968 and 1972, the Journal published more than 300 articles, research reports, and editorials at the frontiers of consciousness studies. Among the Journal’s stated aims are:

“Within the general context of the nature of consciousness:

1. To explore paradigms in such areas as mathematics, general topology, quantum physics, molecular biology and psychology (including psychodynamics).

2. To interpret the findings of specialized disciplines in language comprehensible to those outside these disciplines, and to build interdisciplinary bridges.”

The final two issues of the Journal appeared in the form of a book, Consciousness and Reality, edited by Charles Musès and Arthur M. Young, (Outerbridge and Lazard, 1972).

By 1971, the Youngs were looking toward the West Coast and the opportunity to teach the theory of process at John F. Kennedy University in Orinda, California. In 1973 they purchased a house in Berkeley as a residence and a location for classes. Here, the Foundation operated through the newly formed Institute for the Study of Consciousness until 1976, when FSC terminated, disbursing its remaining assets to the Nyingma Institute and the Human Dimensions Institute.

The Institute For The Study Of Consciousness

ISC was established in 1972 by Arthur and Ruth Young to serve as an educational and research branch of the Foundation for the Study of Consciousness. Initially ISC functioned in cooperation with John F. Kennedy University in Orinda, California. It began regular classes at the Youngs’ home in Berkeley in September 1973, and was incorporated in 1975.

ISC defined its purposes as follows:

• to serve as a locus for researchers seeking a comprehensive approach to orthodox and unorthodox sciences and healing techniques, philosophy, and other disciplines concerned with the life process.
• to develop a context within which current research in physics, parapsychology and medicine can be assessed and applied toward an understanding of the nature of consciousness.
• to hold intensive seminars and workshops in order to teach and test the theory of process as a possible integrating paradigm, and to use the theory as a basis for a holistic method of teaching science.

The Institute hosted weekly colloquia and ongoing classes, and also weekend seminars given by Arthur Young on the theory of process. Credit toward college degrees was available through JFK University. At the weekly colloquia, Arthur regularly challenged attendees with problems in understanding and applying the theory of process. Other presenters at these gatherings included a virtual “Who’s Who” of leading researchers in science and consciousness studies—for example, Karl Pribram, Fritjof Capra, John Lilly, and Huston Smith. In addition, ISC co-sponsored (with Aletheia and Nyingma Institutes) two weekend seminars on Science and Mysticism at UC Berkeley, in 1976 and 1977. For many years Ruth Young led a class on “Imagery and Meditation,” and ISC held weekly readings of Shakespeare plays. Beginning in 1978, Jack Engstrom took over teaching the weekly class on The Reflexive Universe, and later The Geometry of Meaning.

While ISC never changed its mandate of focusing on topics that would contribute to the development and application of the theory of process, celebrity speakers at colloquia drew large and varied audiences whose attention often strayed from interest in an integrative paradigm. Year after year, the Board of Directors concluded that although the colloquia were exciting and entertaining, they did not succeed in attracting potential students and teachers of the theory.

Arthur himself, however, continued to apply his discipline consistently. His notebooks contain voluminous comments on colloquium speakers, attempting to compare or reconcile their views with the theory of process. Sharing these observations with friends and visitors, he constantly refined the theory in the light of new information. His daily journal entries continued until May 26, 1995, four days before he passed on.

Upon Arthur’s death, the Directors of ISC were determined to continue its work. Jack Engstrom, Michael Buchele, M.D., and Chris L.S. Panym focused on both individual and joint projects related to the theory of process. In 2003, ISC produced a large, foldable poster summarizing the theory in a graphic display, with the support of Anodos Foundation and The Grove Consultants. As of 2026, the ISC Directors make presentations at various workshops and symposia, are completing books, developing applications of the theory, and also are available to answer questions and give lectures about the theory.

Anodos Foundation

The mission of Anodos Foundation is to ensure that Arthur Young’s philosophy remains available to the public in his original, unadulterated, forms of expression.

In his Will, Arthur named Joan Schleicher to be the Designator of his charitable funds. A few months before his death, Arthur had asked her to establish a federal tax-exempt organization to receive the funds and use them to continue work with the Theory of Process. She enlisted the help of Dr. Kenneth R. Pelletier, and they incorporated Anodos Foundation in December 1995. A year later, Foster Gamble joined the Board of Directors.

The name “Anodos” invokes Young’s Arc of Process, a fundamental dynamic in his cosmology. This is a three-phase process consisting of a compulsive/unconscious descent from unlimited freedom into matter; a turning point; and a purposive ascent back to freedom, or the Light. Ancient philosophies portray similar scenarios. In Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, the ascent out of the darkness is called Anodos (Greek, “the way up”).

Anodos received IRS approval as a public non-profit organization in April 1996, and became fully operative in 1997 when it assumed responsibility for publishing and distributing Young’s books.

One of the first Anodos projects was to encourage applications of the Theory of Process through the Arthur M. Young Award program. The competitions in 1998 and 2000 attracted a wide range of entries. The winners, selected by a committee of peers, were presented with their awards at special conventions hosted by the Foundation. The Award program was a productive activity in fulfillment of Anodos’ goals; however, it had to be discontinued when the IRS ruled that the Foundation did not meet the financial parameters of a public tax-exempt organization. Instead, Anodos was determined to be a “private operating foundation,” and is thereby prohibited from giving awards and grants.

• • Archives. Arthur Young bequeathed his literary estate to his wife, Ruth Forbes Young, who entrusted this legacy to Anodos Foundation. By 1999, all documentary materials from Young’s homes in Pennsylvania and California had been delivered to Anodos. The Foundation has catalogued key components of the collected books, papers, and correspondence, and has published some of these archival materials in books and magazine articles. Anodos also conserves Young’s bound notebooks. These handwritten journals, comprising more than 45,000 pages, document the development of his mechanical inventions and his cosmology, his encounters with seminal thinkers, and his private musings.

• • Publications. The Foundation distributes Young’s published books and produces new books, such as his astrological autobiography Nested Time (2004), which includes graphic and textual resources from the archives to enhance his original manuscript. To ensure that Young’s books remain available, Anodos undertakes the production of print-on-demand and e-book editions of his titles.

• • Website. The richly informative website, ArthurYoung.com, was initiated, designed, and implemented by Arthur Bloch in January 1996. He managed the website until 2021. In November 2020, Marinka and Jurgen Jongkind presented Anodos with the gift of the current website design, integrating Bloch’s materials within an artistically updated format, and the Jongkinds now help manage the site.

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